Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

After another hour or two of arduous trekking, Pang De and his companions finally descended the mountain. By then, the moon had disappeared into the clouds, and the surroundings were completely dark. Only the occasional twinkling starlight could barely illuminate the path beneath their feet.

Their return startled Jia Xu, who was dozing off beside the tent. Hearing the noise, he immediately opened his eyes, stood up, and went to meet Pang De. "General Pang, you've had a long journey. I wonder what the situation is like at the royal court right now?" Jia Xu asked anxiously.

Pang De saluted, his face weary but still serious. "As Mr. Wenhe predicted, the Lord is indeed engaged in battle with the Xianbei in Ordo City." Pang De then detailed the layout he had spied from the mountaintop, then expressed his doubts. "The southwest camp, from its style, clearly belongs to the King. But the camps east of Ordo City are haphazardly arranged, completely unlike our own. I'm unsure which faction they belong to."

After listening to Pang De's description, Jia Xu frowned and fell into deep thought. He picked up a wooden stick and began to draw in the ashes, trying to figure out the current situation. After a while, Jia Xu stopped, pointed at the pattern on the ground, and said to Pang De, "General, look, is this how it looks?"

Pang De took a closer look, nodded repeatedly, and said eagerly: "Yes, yes, that's it."

Jia Xu's frown deepened. He stared at the diagram on the ground and spoke slowly, "Based on this pattern, if the eastern forces were engaged in battle with the king, they would avoid the king's camp in the southwest. This suggests they are not part of the Ordo defenders. However, if they are allies attacking the city together, why are they camping separately? They could simply merge to better protect against night raids, and even if the city is attacked, they could still split up and act accordingly. Right now, it's hard to tell whether they are friend or foe."

Pang De asked worriedly, "Then sir, what should we do?"

Jia Xu then asked Pang De in detail, "General, in your estimation, how big is the eastern camp? How many people can it accommodate?"

Pang De narrowed his eyes slightly, lost in thought, recalling the scene he had seen from the top of the mountain. After a moment, he spoke, "That camp to the east is much larger than the king's tent. From what I've observed, if it's full of soldiers, there are probably a hundred thousand or even more people."

Jia Xu was startled upon hearing this. One hundred thousand men—that was no small number. It was difficult to fathom the purpose of this force, and what impact it would have on the current war. He paced back and forth in his tent, pondering a strategy.

Jia Xu suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned his gaze towards Hu Chi'er, who was slumped over and gnawing on a lamb leg. He asked, "Chi'er, do you still have the energy?"

Hu Chier's mouth was stuffed full. He chewed a few times with a grunt, then quickly reached out to wipe his mouth and said with a simple face, "Sir, if you have any instructions, please tell me."

Jia Xu looked solemn and said slowly: "One hundred thousand people cannot be underestimated and must be treated with caution. In my opinion, if they are friendly forces, we have been marching on this grassland and killing people all the way, so how could friendly forces appear out of thin air? If they are enemy forces, they are now attacking the city of Ordos with us. I think that even if they are cooperating with our army at the moment, once the city of Ordos is captured, the situation will be hard to say." Pang De listened at the side and agreed deeply, and nodded deeply.

Jia Xu continued, "Chi'er, you have the fastest feet in the army. I order you to sneak into the camp alone and capture a prisoner alive. It's still some time before dawn, and if you bring others with you, we won't arrive on time. But if you ride alone, with your skills, you should be able to complete the mission before dawn. Once you bring the prisoner back, we can make a better decision."

After hearing this, Hu Chier nodded without hesitation and stood up to leave. Pang De saw this and hurried forward to stop Hu Chier. Hu Chier had followed them in battles all over the country and had always been hardworking and had never complained of being tired. Now he was asked to ride alone into an unknown enemy camp, which was extremely risky. Pang De opened his mouth and wanted to say something to dissuade him, but when the words came to his lips, he looked at Hu Chier's determined eyes and couldn't bear to say them. He patted Hu Chier's shoulder gently, his voice a little low: "Be careful on the way."

Hu Chi'er grinned nonchalantly, revealing his large white teeth. "General, you still don't trust my speed? Don't worry, just wait for me to come back." With that, he turned and stalked quickly to the stables, selected the strongest warhorse, mounted it, and disappeared into the night. Jia Xu and Pang De watched him go, silently praying for his safe return, bringing the crucial clue to their current predicament.

Hu Chi'er rode his sturdy warhorse like a black shadow, galloping towards the camp in the east under the cover of night. The night wind from the grassland hurt his face, but he had only one thought in his mind: complete the mission and return safely.

As he approached the camp, Hu Chi'er slowed down, using the moonlight and the sparse trees outside the camp as cover as he crept cautiously. His keen eyes observed the movements around the camp, noting the patrols' intervals and routes. He found an opening and, like a civet cat, slithered over the camp fence.

After landing, he crouched down and quickly shuttled between the tents. The camp was filled with the smell of horse manure and barbecued meat, and the occasional snoring of sleeping soldiers could be heard. Hu Chi'er stared wide-eyed, searching for a suitable target in the darkness.

Finally, he found a single tent, a faint light emanating from within. Hu Chi'er approached gently, peering through a crack in the tent. He saw a Xianbei man sitting inside, seemingly polishing his weapon. Hu Chi'er, secretly delighted, quietly circled around to the back of the tent, cut a small opening with his dagger, and slipped in silently.

The man noticed the movement and was about to stand up when Hu Chier pounced on him like a hungry tiger. He covered the soldier's mouth with one hand and put the dagger against his neck with the other hand, whispering a threat: "If you dare to make a sound, I will kill you!" The soldier widened his eyes in horror and his body trembled instinctively, but he didn't dare to make a sound.

Hu Chi'er quickly knocked the soldier unconscious, tied him up with a pre-prepared rope, and stuffed a rag in his mouth. He then slipped out of the tent again, carrying the prisoner, and made his way to the edge of the camp. Along the way, he deftly avoided wave after wave of patrolling soldiers with his agility and precise timing.

After finally reaching the edge of the camp, Hu Chi'er was about to leave when he heard hurried footsteps approaching. His heart raced, and he quickly found a dark corner to hide in. In the moonlight, he saw a group of soldiers heading towards the tent where he had been hiding, presumably because they had noticed something unusual.

Hu Chi'er didn't dare to be careless. He waited until the group of soldiers had gone far away before cautiously moving again. He saw an opening, quickly climbed over the camp fence, and reached the grassland outside. He placed the captive on his horse, climbed on his own, whipped his horse, and galloped towards his own camp.

Along the way, Hu Chi'er didn't dare to rest for a moment, hoping to return home as soon as possible. As time passed, the sky gradually turned pale. When he returned to his camp with his captives, it was just dawn. Jia Xu and Pang De had been waiting anxiously outside the camp. Seeing Hu Chi'er return safely, they finally felt relieved.

"Chi'er, thank you for your hard work!" Pang De walked forward quickly, his eyes full of concern and approval.

Hu Chier grinned and said, "Don't worry, General. Are you still worried about me doing my job?" As he said that, he pulled the prisoner off the horse.

Jia Xu walked forward and looked at the prisoner, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

Although the captive's hands were bound, he still held his head high, his expression rather haughty. Judging from his attire, speech, and behavior, he clearly looked like the leader of a small tribe. Seeing this, Jia Xu signaled his men to release the cloth from his mouth.

As soon as the captives were freed, they glared at Jia Xu and the others, chattering loudly in a tone filled with anger and questioning. Jia Xu was momentarily confused and quickly ordered the merchants familiar with the local language to translate.

The merchants hurried over, listened carefully, and then translated for Jia Xu, "He said they were generals under King Murong Xuepo and had a formal partnership with the Han army. I don't understand why they wanted to arrest him."

Jia Xu frowned tightly, "Murong Xuepo? Isn't Murong Xuepo the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu?" He was secretly surprised. Before this, they were in the left army, and because of the Xiongnu royal court in the middle, they knew little about the changes on the right side.

After further questioning, Jia Xu learned that Murong Xuepo had taken advantage of the battle between Ma Chao and the Xianbei leader Kebi Neng to establish his own regime. This news was like a bombshell, causing a huge stir in Jia Xu's heart.

"Is this true?" Jia Xu muttered to himself, a solemn expression on his face. Murong Xuepo's actions undoubtedly complicated the current situation even more. Originally thought to be a war with the Xiongnu royal court and the Xianbei, now a separatist force has suddenly emerged out of nowhere.

Pang De, standing nearby, was also filled with shock. He said, "Murong Xuepo is quite ambitious, choosing now to establish himself. So, what is his purpose in collaborating with our army to attack the city?"

Jia Xu pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "He's collaborating with us to attack the city, but I'm afraid he's not truly allying with our army. Taking Ordo City would certainly be beneficial to expanding his power. Perhaps he's planning to reap the benefits, or even annex our army."

Pang De clenched his fists in anger and roared in rage, "These ambitious people are truly despicable! Since we already know that they are likely to harm our lord, let's not delay any longer and quickly cross this Wolf Mountain to reunite with our lord to prevent him from encountering any unexpected events!"

Jia Xu quickly waved his hand, his expression calm, signaling Pang De to calm down. He said slowly, "General Pang, calm down. We only have 20,000 soldiers right now. Even if we rush over to reunite with our lord, given the current situation, how much help will it bring? Blindly acting will not only fail to solve the problem, but may even put us in a more passive position."

Pang De's face was filled with anxiety, and veins bulged on his forehead. He couldn't bear the feeling of knowing there was a potential threat but still holding his troops in place. But he also knew that what Jia Xu said was absolutely right, so he could only suppress his anger and wait for Jia Xu's next instructions.